Talk about hole in the freaking wall. Seriously. How much more of a hole in the wall can this place look like? But, it’s only from the outside! This place has the worst signage, and shadiest, sketchiest and dodgiest location and appearance, yet everybody who’s in the “Main Street” scene seems to already know about it!

Narrow Artist Lounge looks like an abandoned dive or haunted house and it totally banks on word of mouth, which appears to be working. It was so mysterious that it sparked my curiosity and I couldn’t wait to try it asap. Its independent style and off the beaten track image made it so much more alluring.

The red light leading to the restaurant door did not help with making it look less sketchy. Thoughts of an illegal red light district, drug bar, and path to hell did cross my mind, but thankfully it was none of those things. The crappy sign and graffiti made me feel like I was entering a scene of Candy Man and if it was night time I would have been a bit scared. On the other hand I knew what to expect, so I was actually just more excited since I already lurked their website and stalked their Twitter. Hmm now that just makes me sound creepier….

Anyways, my group came early and it’s not a place that’s really known for dinner. Come at night time at around 9pm on a weekend though and the place is packed. It can feel a bit crowded especially since it is tunnel shaped and more or less operating in the context of a basement, so just a heads up.

The people entering were artsy, but edgy, and “artist” is only in the name, so don’t expect Yaletown canvas painting. It attracts the given hipsters or even sometimes grunge, and let’s just say all but one of us blended in, and it wasn’t me.

It’s known more for drinks, although it doesn’t have a cocktail list. It’s not that kind of place, but they are able to whip up basic cocktails. A decent selection of wines and a surprising amount of choices for Scotch and Whiskey is its niche. Popular for the lively night scene and the ambiance, it was a bit like a romanticized goth theme meets the set of the “Backstreet’s Back” music video.

I was the one that chose Narrow Artist Lounge and I don’t regret it at all. I would definitely consider it a hidden gem and the place exceeds the expectations you might have for it. It’s super dark and you can barely see your food, but it’s housing a chef that does care. It’s more than acceptable for what it is. The food was actually really good and not your average pub food, and even if some of it was, at least it was all home cooked. It’s small plates, but the portions are medium sized, and the “mains”, or “one pot wonders”, were the only things that fell short. The prices are extremely reasonable and the portions are fair, which made the value almost unbeatable. There was some modern flair and creative ethnic influences and it’s a solid find whether you come for the food or just the scene.

The mac and cheese was bland and sauceless and I found the addition of both jalapeno and bacon not worth it.

The jalapeno was just pickled and overwhelming since they were just big pieces tossed in. If you got one it was spicy and you couldn’t taste the mac and cheese.

The bacon came unnoticed unless you actually bit into a piece, otherwise the bacon flavour wasn’t infused.

There was a layer of stringy baked on Cheddar and Mozzarella cheese, but that’s about as far as the cheese flavour stretched.

The macaroni was in somewhat of a stout cheese sauce, but it wasn’t coming through as a creamy sauce or even one that was really cheesy or flavourful at all.

The noodles and sauce were just greasy so none of it was even sticking to the noodles.

Chorizo Ragout – 3.5/6

House made chorizo with chick peas, tomato and onion topped with goat’s cheese $9 (Goat’s cheese came on the side because they forgot)

It wasn’t chorizo, but it was still very good. It was more like a super soft and tender moist meatloaf sausage.

The sausage was decently spicy, plump, juicy and tender. It’s home made and fresh with a meaty flavour and perhaps some fennel seed.

The ragout was a sweet and tangy roasted tomato and chick pea stew and it was quite simple and good, but also similar to a marina sauce and I wanted to eat it over pasta.

The salty meaty bites of crumbled goat’s cheese added a creamy richness to contrast the tangy sweet tomato like sauce.

There’s nothing amazing about this, but there’s nothing really wrong with it either.

Beef & Guinness Stew – 1/6

Slow cooked stew with beef, carrot, onion and mushroom. With a chunk of baguette. $7

This was weak sauce and the beef was really tough and chewy.

The stew was almost mucky and very bland in flavour and it tasted like a base that was heavy in flour, but no flavour. The Guinness was obvious, but not in a good way.

There were lots of mushrooms and root vegetables, but I would have preferred even Campbell’s Chunky soup. I’m not sure what happened here.

It was the only thing that was actually really disappointing.

Peanut Butter Pie – 3/6

Creamy peanut butter cheesecake topped with ganache and peanuts $4

For $4 you can’t really complain any way you look at it… unless it’s really bad, and it wasn’t.

It didn’t even taste too much like a cheesecake, which I don’t mind since I’m not too keen on cheesecake.

This one was decently sweet and a great balance of chocolate and peanut butter with a moist chocolate cookie crust.

It reminded me of a creamy Reece’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cup, and it’s not a dense or tangy cheesecake at all. It’s not really mousse like either, but still smooth and creamy with a nutty crunch from the crushed peanuts. I wish the middle was semi-frozen.

13 Comments

from the outside, looks like a squatters’ den. early pix of the inside left me feeling klaustrophobic just looking at it. it’s probably a hipster’s dream hole, but i think i prefer life on the outside. haha! you’re so brave for even going in.

wow, when i first looked at the picture above, i thought you took a picture of an alley, not the entrance of a restaurant lol i can see how this place works on main street – i can see the same thing if it were on commercial drive also – lots of artsy ppl there as well!

wow hummus and roti eh? that sounds just crazy enough to work and the $4 price tag is definitely a steal! i’m not too surea bout the donair though.. i think the fact that the beef is in patty form would throw me off too much – the reason why i love donairs in general is because of the thinly sliced beef – this totally wouldn’t fly with me i think lol

the tacos look great but the pulled pork one is totally more droolworthy! look at all that saucy meat and i like the fact that they made it with cabbage slow to cut the richness of the pork – the fish one looks good too but i wish the cabbage they used was dressed.. it looks a little dry to me

OMG when you said that the beef stew was ‘weak sauce’ i totally LOLed haha i know you meant the actual sauce but it was still funny lol wow that caramel nut bar looks so yummmmmy! did you get anything stuck to your teeth?

@poop – LOL “Hipster’s dream hole”…. I’m using that in my next tweet about it!!

@Linda – I totally agree with the donair part.. it didn’t taste bad though. LOL I love how you caught my “weak sauce” comment!!! Yeah!! I knew you like pulled pork and I thought of you when I had it because I remember you commenting about the one at Crave on Main! Hmm nothing stuck in my teeth, but if I did nobody saw because it was so dark! 😀

Part of me is resentful that the secret is out about this place 😛 Just kidding! I’ve never eaten there but I frequently go there on Sunday nights as the Djs are awesome! (Also known as “lazerbomb”) It does get crowded, and sometimes a bit stuffy, but here’s a hint: if you sit towards the back of the bar towards the washrooms, or right up in the area at the front, you’re likely to feel way less claustrophobic. This bar has a definite “big city, underground bar” kind of feel which is actually why I like it.

@vivian – I totally would have if I wasn’t prepared, but I knew what I was going in to… which wasn’t hell.. thank god!! I also had some hands to hold… but if it was dark and I was along… oh god.

@lima – LOL!!! You and I’m sure a lot of people in this scene are furious that I let the secret out!! It’s going to be “popular” now with “wannabes” lol… just kidding… but if my blog actually reached to more people and it did get busy I’d be really happy! It deserves it and it really is such a hidden gem huh? “big city, underground bar”… love that quote! Thanks hun!!

they have patio parties in the summer. We got turned away because it was insanely crowded. But i have been in, Did you try the yam fries? I always have a weird attraction to taxidermy decor. I love the atmosphere. Everyone has different taste and styles. Def for “artist” people, i cringe when i hear the word “hipster” a lot of regular folks go there too 😉

@Miss Soo – Oh no! I don’t know if they have yam fries on the menu anymore! But no I missed out of they did. I KNEW you would know about this place!! You’re so the Narrow Lounge Artists crowd lol I apologize for the “hipster” term… I can totally see “you guys” not liking it… haha love u eileen!